Hundreds of lifelong dreams of making it to the NFL are achieved every single year during the NFL Draft. For the state of Wisconsin, sports (especially football) are engrained in our culture. The roads are rather empty while the Green Bay Packers are on the field, and many high schoolers around the state have the dream of playing at Lambeau Field someday.
We have seen many great Wisconsin-born players make it to the NFL and play at the highest of levels. However, how many athletes to play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) have been selected in the NFL Draft?
Below, we will take a look at every WIAC football player to be selected in the NFL Draft. For those who don’t know, here is the list of schools in the WIAC:
- UW-Eau Claire
- UW-La Crosse
- UW-Oshkosh
- UW-Platteville
- UW-River Falls
- UW-Stevens Point
- UW-Stout
- UW-Whitewater
- UW-Superior*
- UW-Milwaukee*
*Former WIAC football schools
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Every WIAC Football Player to Be Selected in an NFL Draft
UW-La Crosse Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1951–Ace Loomis (Running Back) (5th), Cleveland Browns
- 1958–John Knispel (Offensive Tackle/Placekicker) (25th), Cleveland Browns
- 1956–Willie Berzinski (Running Back) (4th), Los Angeles Rams
- 1970–Tony Christnovich (Offensive Tackle) (12th), Washington Redskins
- 1972–Bryon Buelow (Defensive Back) (5th), Atlanta Falcons
- 1984–Jim Byrne (Defensive Tackle) (3rd–75 *Supplemental Draft), Los Angeles Rams
- 1986–Tom Newberry (Guard) (2nd–50), Los Angeles Rams
- 1990–Terry Strouf (Offensive Tackle) (7th–189), Philadelphia Eagles
- 1994–Bill Schroeder (Wide Receiver) (6th–181), Green Bay Packers
UW-Oshkosh Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1970–Claire Rasmussen (Defensive Tackle) (14th–352), Houston Oilers
- 1971–Ron Cardo (Running Back) (10th), San Francisco 49ers
UW-Platteville Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1969–Robert Bergum (Defensive End) (10th-242), Detroit Lions
- 1970–Glen Keppy (15th-365), Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1971–Jim Bunch (12th-309), San Francisco 49ers
UW-Stevens Point Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1988–Aatron Kenney (Wide Receiver) (12th–308), Indianapolis Colts
- 1990–Kirk Baumgartner (Quarterback) (9th–242), Green Bay Packers
- 1991–Pete Lucas (Offensive Tackle) (10th–258), Atlanta Falcons
- 1992–Barry Rose (Wide Receiver) (10th–279), Buffalo Bills
- 1999–Clint Kriewaldt (Linebacker) (6th–177), Detroit Lions
UW-Whitewater Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1966–Vilnis Ezerins (Running Back) (8th–112), Los Angeles Rams
- 1967–Dennis Williamson (Defensive Back) (15th–386), Cleveland Browns
- 1970–Greg Jones (Running Back) (12th–301), Denver Broncos
- 1971–Kirk Behrendt (Offensive Tackle) (12th–306), Los Angeles Rams
- 1972–Lon Kolstad (Linebacker) (10th–246), San Diego Chargers
- 2007–Derek Stanley (Wide Receiver) (7th–249), St. Louis Rams
- 2021–Quinn Meinertz (Guard) (3rd–98), Denver Broncos
UW-Stout Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1967–Dick Erickson (Center) (7th–183), Kansas City Chiefs
- 1970–Gary Inskeep (Offensive Tackle) (13th–325), New York Giants
- 1971–Reggie Holmes (Defensive Back) (12th–310), Minnesota Vikings
- 2002–Tony Beckham (Defensive Back) (4th–115), Tennessee Titans
UW-Superior Football Players Selected in NFL Draft
- 1950–Dominic Moselle (Running Back) (23rd–299), Cleveland Browns
- 1970–Doug Sutherland (Defensive Tackle) (14th–348), New Orleans Saints
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